Faculty manual

The Faculty Manual provides information on the mission and vision of Syracuse University, policies governing the faculty, and the rights and responsibilities of the faculty of Syracuse University.

2.55 Research and Administrative Leaves of Absence

Faculty members holding regular appointments may apply for research or administrative leaves. Research leaves are granted for the purpose of encouraging scholarly research, study, or creative activity. Administrative leaves may be granted to accommodate a variety of purposes including personal business, government service, teaching, or family needs. Each application for leave is considered on its own merits. It is not normal to grant a terminal leave under this provision.

Faculty members requesting a leave make application through their department chairpersons to their dean in accordance with the routine prescribed by their school or college. Applications should be made sufficiently in advance to allow processing and enable convenient rearrangement of the teaching and research programs. Ordinarily, applications should reach department heads at least seven months before the end of the semester preceding the leave or leave extension, that is, before October 15 for academic year and fall semester leaves to begin the following September and before February 15 for spring semester leaves to begin the following January. Leave recommendations should reach the Vice Chancellor and Provost by November 15 and March 15, respectively, in order to be presented to the Board of Trustees. Leave requests occasioned by certain foundation grants or by health or other reasons beyond the control of the applicant may be made later.

Applications should include all details and accompanying statements necessary for their dean to complete the recommendations to the Vice Chancellor and Provost.

Wherever possible, it is desirable that arrangements for fellowships or other forms of financial support be made and confirmed prior to application for a leave.

Leave of absence recommendationsDeans will carefully weigh the contributions that leaves will make to the professional effectiveness and personal well-being of faculty members as well as the best interests of the University. Recommendation will be based on the estimated value and relative urgency of the leave, the length of time since the previous leave, the duration of the leave, and the disruption of teaching and other professional commitments. In reviewing the recommendations, the Vice Chancellor and Provost will also consider an equitable distribution of leaves in a given year throughout all of the University faculties. The number of persons granted leave in any one year will not exceed a reasonable percent of the entire University faculties and may be limited at the discretion of the Vice Chancellor and Provost and the Chancellor.

Absence or relief from regular duties for brief periods may be arranged with a faculty member’s dean. Leaves of absence for longer than two weeks require formal application approved by the appropriate deans and the Vice Chancellor and Provost.

Most leaves will be for the duration of a semester or an academic year. Initial requests should state whether a leave of two academic years is contemplated. Extensions of leaves will not ordinarily exceed one year in addition to leave already held.

Leaves of absence will be scheduled within each department so that the teaching load of the person on leave may properly be carried on, or some or all of the courses normally scheduled for the person seeking leave may be omitted without detriment to the instructional program and the students for whom they are offered.

Faculty members who have served the University for several years and who give unusual promise of using the leave to scholarly advantage, other than for completing work toward a higher degree, may be recommended for a one-semester research leave at full pay with benefits, or for an academic year’s leave at half pay with benefits. Others may apply for leaves without pay or benefits.

Leaves may be recommended and granted with or without salary and/or benefits. Faculty members on leave with pay may not accept other paid employment which would cause their income to exceed their Syracuse University base pay for a comparable period of time. They may, however, accept money from fellowships or grants for study, research, or travel without prejudice to their University salary so long as such acceptance carries no duties or obligations hindering the pursuit of the purpose for which the leave is granted and so long as those funds are used to meet research or study objectives and not to augment the salary of the faculty members on leave.

Faculty members on leave with pay will be paid semi-monthly. In the case of leaves abroad, it is possible, where necessary, to arrange for full or partial salary advances.

Time on leaveWhether leave time is counted toward tenure or time in grade for promotion purposes is governed in each case by the recommendation of the appropriate dean and the approval of the Vice Chancellor and Provost, the Chancellor, and the Board of Trustees. These leave decisions must be made and noted at the time the leave is granted.

Report on faculty leaveWithin 30 days after return from a leave, faculty members must submit a report to their dean and the Vice Chancellor and Provost. These comprehensive reports should not detract from the importance of forwarding urgent and immediately useful information at once. Faculty members on leave assume an obligation to notify their dean promptly of any change of address.

Future service (revised 2/06)Under normal circumstances, Syracuse University requires that a faculty member granted research leave, or another type of leave, with pay will return to full-time service to the University for the equivalent period following his/her leave. If this obligation is not fulfilled, the faculty member or his or her new employer must reimburse the University for the salary paid while on leave, unless specifically relieved of the obligation by the Vice Chancellor and Provost.